Epidemic of violence

The number of individuals killed by the acts of another in San Joaquin County during 2012 may not have set a record, but the soaring carnage in Stockton certainly did.

With a rate of one slaying per 4,174 residents, Stockton's 2012 homicide rate is topped only by Detroit and Oakland among large cities in the United States, according to information provided by the Stockton Police Department. It's even worse than storied Chicago, which is dealing with one murder per 5,414 residents in 2012.

The seemingly uncontrolled violence in Stockton helped topple the incumbent mayor and set the agenda for a new City Council. At his inauguration last week, Mayor Anthony Silva made his intentions clear when he spoke directly to criminals: "This is your final warning - you better move out of Stockton now, because we are coming after you."

Here are the cold, hard facts: 88 homicides in the county in 2012, down two from the previous year, the deadliest on record.

Homicides investigated by the Stockton Police Department, however, were another story. Following 2011's record-setting 58, the number killed last year reached that pinnacle in October. By the end of the year, 71 people were killed within the city limits.

Another six were slain just outside the lines. Those cases are the jurisdiction of the Sheriff's Office.

Tracy police investigated and closed four homicides in 2012, the same number as two years earlier. In 2011, no murders were reported in Tracy. Lodi police investigated and closed two homicides, the same as they handled in 2011. Manteca police experienced none during 2012 following a difficult year in 2011, when they investigated five.

In addition to the six homicides in the Stockton area that county sheriff's detectives dealt with, they investigated three in the Lathrop area, one in rural Manteca and one near Thornton. The San Joaquin County Jail, operated by the sheriff, is currently housing 59 inmates facing murder charges.

The average age of all 88 victims was 31, ranging from 2 to 88. Seventy-five of the killings, or 85 percent, were caused by guns. Seven victims were cut or stabbed to death. One, truck driver Alexander Dominic Bell, was killed falling from the outside of a truck cab whose fleeing occupant he suspected of stealing gas.

By the close of 2012, Stockton police had made arrests in 24 cases and solved another six for an overall clearance rate of 42.25 percent. That is lower than the almost 50 percent clearance rate achieved in 2011 and speaks to the department's continuing difficulty in getting witnesses to step forward with information to help its 16 robbery/homicide detectives solve cases.

Thirty-four of the city's 71 killings - close to half - were classified as gang-related, and in 61 cases, or 86 percent, a gun was used. That has prompted Police Chief Eric Jones to state repeatedly that "gangs and guns" are the top focus of his department.

Under his watch, the department last summer implemented its Community Response Team, two squads of 11 officers each that cover identified crime hot spots. They are flexible enough to respond to where crime is happening anytime, in any neighborhood, according to department spokesman Joe Silva.

"The Community Response Team goes out in high-crime neighborhoods for high visibility and strict enforcement against gang members and known gang associates," Silva said.

The city is spread out over roughly 65 square miles, and almost no area is immune from the violence. In both the areas south of the Crosstown Freeway and north of Harding Way, each experienced 30 homicides. Eleven homicides occurred in the central Stockton swath between the Crosstown and Harding Way.

There were no homicides west of Interstate 5 north of the Calaveras River, nor were there any east of I-5 to Pacific Avenue between Swain Road and Hammer Lane.

The department, Silva noted, is well aware of the new brazenness some criminals are exhibiting based on the 26 homicides committed in daylight between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. That's exactly double the number of 2011. In 2010, there were 15 daytime homicides.

In addition to investigating the crime, Stockton police refer the victims' surviving family members to the San Joaquin County Victim/Witness Program and offer the services of the department's police chaplains "to help them cope and respond to this tragic event," Silva said.

What follows is a list of victims and brief details. Each individual has a unique story to tell, a unique circle of family and friends devastated by the circumstances surrounding their deaths. In too many cases, the only information made public about victims is where and how they died.

Silva, who worked as a homicide detective for seven years before transferring last year to become the public voice of the department, put it this way:

"Behind each number there is a victim with grieving family members. That's why it is important that if anyone has any information whatsoever, they need to get that information to our homicide detectives so we can follow up with their tip, make an arrest and bring closure to that family."